Has anyone used exhaust wrap on the headers to reduce heat in the engine bay? I was looking in a summit catalog and saw some. It's not too pricey. Wanted to know if anyone used it. It also stated that using exhaust wrap could void header warranties. I guess this means since you are keeping the heat in the header that they could exceed the temps they were designed for, and this would obviously be a bad thing.

But is there anyone with experience with these? $20 for a roll of exhaust wrap is a lot cheaper than $400 for new headers. Granted exhaust wrap won't change anything inside the headers, such as more area for more free flowing exhaust.

On a side note, does the spray on stuff, I guess it is ceramic coating or something you might find at auto zone do anything, or is it purely cosmetic?

Just what I've heard/seen. If you're not going to maintain it, don't bother. It doesn't last and has to be renewed from time to time.

When I get the bread, sometime before summer, I'm going to put louvers on my hood. The ones I want are heavy aluminum and kind of pricey, but quite nice. They were featured in the February 4wheel/Offroad Magazine.

yeah, with u're ofroading and dirt.mud gettin on them a lot, they wouldnt last long w/o u keepin them clean, but they do work....they do what they're supposed to

drag racers and hot rodders have been useing them for quite some time and they will reduce temps and etc....although its prolly gonna be a pain to wrap themaround the headers in our croweded engine bay....

Ok...John!!! Awesome you should show interest in louvers. I saw some, probably the same ones in the offroad mag. I talked to the guy down in Shamong that manufacture our HVAC equipment (sheetmetal). I am working on designing some louvers, similar to those in the mag. I dont have a price yet, but I imagine they would have to be cheaper than those. I was going to get them in Aluminum and have them painted black. Let me know if you are interested. And I can proceed some more with these. If anyone else is interested let me know. When it comes to sheetmetal, it pays to fabricate things in quantities. I guess this will cause me to get my drawings going. I have been working on it scarcely since i saw the article. I have pretty much everything set out, but i want to cut out some cardboard to see how they would fit on the hood.

John i think the ones we saw in the mag were 16 gauge (.0625"). The louver machine they have i think can handle a slightly smaller gauge...i dont have the thickness at the top of my head but it may be .05xx or .04xx something like that.

Haha...yeah that engineering degree and years of manufacturing sheet metal parts is finally paying off where it counts...on my truck

That's the ones. You know, most of the stuff sold on the net isn't REALLY a louver -- it's a FAKE louver. Finding something real to vent your engine compartment is not so easy!

Dave, you may think this is unnecessary, and it is until you have the truck imbedded up to the bottom in mud or water, and can no longer circulate air through then engine compartment. Besides the reduction in engine compartment temperature anytime (which is documented and certainly helpful), these can be a life saver when you are stuck for any length of time, particularly in hot weather.

I didn't really think about it other than the word louver put a picture in my head of a lowered 70's cadillac with a crazy mural paint job and a plush velour interior crusing the streets in L.A. That's where the Chico ***** came into my mind. They are little fuzz ***** used as trim in an interior or wherever, about a quarter inch in size and placed every inch or so.

I've heard there are metal fatigue issues with heat wraps due to the excessive heat cycling that the headers go through. They work great for keeping the heat contained in the exhaust system until it clears the engine bay, but it also raises the heat applied to the metal. Also, moisture can trapped against the surface of the manifold. This wasn't a big issue with the old big iron V-8's, but should be considered before wrapping the exhaust manifolds of today's engines.

Louvers are a good way to remove heat, along with scoops or cowl induction. They are favored by those who prefer an effective method of heat control, but they may not be the astetic answer some people seek. In my opinion, if you're going for a reliable off-raod machine, why not knock some holes so it can breath.

Chico bells are very popular in the interior of Latino vehicles, and are often considered part of their heritage (They resemble the fringe that adorns Spanish style clothing).
They cannot help remove heat from the engine bay, and serve no further need in this thread.

Those worried about underhood air temps are just not moving fast enough. I'd think that if you removed all the engine bay splash guards, you'd lower the temperature more than header wraps could. Let the heat bleed off into an ample air supply instead of insulate it into the exhaust.

You could make a heat extractor.... ok i was thinking of this... im sure we have seen those cowl hoods with little hole drilled into the cowl side facing the window, now they say it lets air into the engine, but the way the holes are facing that couldn't happen, im thinking it can get rid of engine heat... So i was think why not drill some holes into the cowl on my Edge hood?